PCP and SRF groups discuss Sudan’s peace in Germany
December 19, 2017 (KHARTOUM) – The Popular Congress Party (PCP) and Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) led by Minni Minnawi held two-day discussions on Sudan’s peace in the German city, Bonn.
The PCP, which historically was opposed to foreign initiatives to end the war in Sudan, launched several months ago an initiative to bridge the gaps between the National Congress Party-led government and the opposition groups that boycott the National Dialogue process.
Last week, Ali al-Haj who leads the Islamist party after long years of exile in Germany said he would meet the with the armed at the end of a long series of meetings held with Sudanese political leaders including President Omer al-Bashir who supports this initiative.
In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune Tuesday, the PCP said al-Haj on Monday evening held a dinner in Bonn in honour of the PCP and SRF delegations that would meet from 18 to 19 December.
According to the statement, the dinner was attended from the SRF side by the rebel umbrella leader Minni Minnawi, leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Gibril Ibrahim and the member of the SRF leadership council Amin Daoud.
On the other hand, PCP members who attended the dinner include deputy secretary of foreign relations Mohamed Badr al-Din Hamid, PCP representative in Britian Siddiq Mohamed Osman and the party representative in Sweden al-Bashir Mohamed.
Following the dinner, the two delegations held a preliminary meeting to set up the agenda of the main meeting which would be held on Tuesday morning in Bonn.
PCP’s delegation spokesperson Siddiq Mohamed Osman said a good brotherly spirit has prevailed over the meeting, pointing the PCP initiative was very well received by the SRF delegation.
The statement said the meeting would discuss the PCP initiative as well as the required confidence-building measures to achieve a lasting peace in Sudan.
Last October, the SRF held its general conference in Paris and elected Minnawi as a leader for the upcoming period.
The Sudan Liberation Movement Minni Minnawi and the Justice and Equality Movement are part of the African Union-brokered peace process.
They failed to reach a humanitarian cessation of hostilities agreement with the government in August 2016 as they demand to open the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur for discussion, a matter that the government rejects.
Since, the government and the two groups have mad sole progress in this respect thanks to the efforts undertaken by the international facilitators but still, there are divergences on several points between the two parties.
(ST)